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Categories include: Cognac, Armagnac, American Brandies (Apple Brandy was the very first distilled spirit made in America.) and fruit brandies.

Brandy began being distilled as a medicine in France around 1313 with commercial distaillation of drinking brandy beginning in the 1500's. According to Wikipedia, "Brandy" is a shortening of brandywine, which was derived from the Dutch word brandewijn, which literally means "burned wine", (derived from the process that most brandies are made with by applying heat, originally from open flames, to wine.)

Brandy has a defined rating system, the most common of the ratings include:V.S. (very superior) or V.S.P. (very special) or three stars designates a blend in which the youngest brandy has been stored for at least two years in a cask.V.S.O.P. (very superior old pale), Reserve or five stars designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least four years in a cask.XO (extra old) or Napoléon designates a blend in which the youngest brandy is stored for at least (recently upgraded to) ten years.Hors d'âge (beyond age) is a designation which is formally equal to XO for Cognac, but for Armagnac designates brandy that is at least ten years old. The term is used by producers to market a high-quality product beyond the official age scale.

Though I am not as well versed in brandies as I would like to be, I do enjoy a good snifter of very excellent (hidden and hoarded) Cognac and I love brandy in cocktails. I generally opt for a good mid-range VSOP for my cocktails, leaving my much pricier Cognac as a treat for very special occasions.

I wanted an Old Fashioned but I didn't have any fresh oranges which are kind of an essential part of a classic Old Fashioned cocktail. According to the I.B.A., an Old Fashioned is basically a bitters soaked sugar cube muddled in the glass (with a bit of water to help dissolve the cube) then topped off with ice and whiskey and garnished with an orange and a cocktail cherry. Most of the time, when you order an Old Fashioned in a bar, they will muddle the orange slice and cherry with the sugar to release their juices into the cocktail. Though this is heresy to some, I happen to like this application of the muddled garnishes, it brings back fond memories.

But, again, no oranges. What I did have was an apple, fresh ginger and spices and I'm never shy when it comes to mixing things up, especially basic recipes like an Old Fashioned. There are tons of Old Fashioned recipes replacing the brandy or whiskey with rum, tequila and even vodka and moonshine. You can also replace the sugar with flavored liqueurs or simple syrups and even switch out the orange for another citrus.

Of course, by that time, you end up with a new cocktail, one that can no longer be called simply an "Old Fashioned". My thought is that if you only change out the spirit you add that spirit, as in "Rum" Old Fashioned (like a "Vodka" Martini). In my opinion, if you start messing with more ingredients an ingredient precise moniker is called for.

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